AEM or K&N

[Anthony]

I'll pay extra for the AEM every time, filter is the best made

True, so then buy a eBay CAI and get a real AEM filter for under $50 and you have a "real" AEM CAI for $125ish

 

[El Capitan]

These numbers don't really relate to OUR rigs...but will give you a good general idea of what you're working with.
On the cherokee SRT-8's...
The stock airbox flows 799.5 CFM of air
Stock box w/ K&N Drop-in flows 815.7 CFM
a 3.5" CAI system(like all the ones available for our rigs) flows 1044 CFM(+244.5 over stock)
a 4" CAI setup flowed 1244.9 CFM(+425.4 over stock)
our factory intakes probably flow MAYBE 650 CFM, restrictive as they are.
Granted, since our cars can NEVER pull that much air into our engines without forced induction because they just dont take in enough, any CAI setup will do the trick. It's all up to your preference if you go aftermarket. Heatsoak is the only thing that may differ between different systems depending on what they're made of.
Their dyno results aren't exactly good numbers to go by because it all depends on the weather conditions they dyno'd them in, as well as how well they kept the intake from soaking heat. On a good day with a negative DA, any given engine will make more power than in worse conditions. So K&N might have gotten 11HP gain on day X with -1000 DA, but on day XX they might have gotten only 8HP with a positive DA. And heatsoak will only bring that down further as your engine pulls timing to compensate the hot air charge. Maybe i'm getting too technical..

I chose to make my own 4" setup, because knowing you can flow that much more is just nice to know, especially for the money I saved. And if done right, the quality is just as good, The air flows smoothly(no turbulence) throughout the inside with the way i built it and I dont have very much issue with heatsoaking.

 

[92__silverado]

These numbers don't really relate to OUR rigs...but will give you a good general idea of what you're working with.
On the cherokee SRT-8's...
The stock airbox flows 799.5 CFM of air
Stock box w/ K&N Drop-in flows 815.7 CFM
a 3.5" CAI system(like all the ones available for our rigs) flows 1044 CFM(+244.5 over stock)
a 4" CAI setup flowed 1244.9 CFM(+425.4 over stock)
our factory intakes probably flow MAYBE 650 CFM, restrictive as they are.
Granted, since our cars can NEVER pull that much air into our engines without forced induction because they just dont take in enough, any CAI setup will do the trick. It's all up to your preference if you go aftermarket. Heatsoak is the only thing that may differ between different systems depending on what they're made of.
Their dyno results aren't exactly good numbers to go by because it all depends on the weather conditions they dyno'd them in, as well as how well they kept the intake from soaking heat. On a good day with a negative DA, any given engine will make more power than in worse conditions. So K&N might have gotten 11HP gain on day X with -1000 DA, but on day XX they might have gotten only 8HP with a positive DA. And heatsoak will only bring that down further as your engine pulls timing to compensate the hot air charge. Maybe i'm getting too technical..

I chose to make my own 4" setup, because knowing you can flow that much more is just nice to know, especially for the money I saved. And if done right, the quality is just as good, The air flows smoothly(no turbulence) throughout the inside with the way i built it and I dont have very much issue with heatsoaking.

I would like to see some pictures of the intake you made. What kinds of stuff you used, tube,filter, etc. Sounds like a very worthwhile project.

 

[kickitandholdit]

i have had a k&n and driven aem an i just bought a specter inteak and it was $140 an no difference to me

 

[El Capitan]

Post # 16 in this thread I posted a picture.

I could have done it a little differently, where it Might have looked a little prettier and had more "show" to it, but heatsoak would have become a problem. The rubber bends have metal inside it to promote the smoother airflow, and the rubber elbows make for an excellent thermal barrier. Intake temperatures rarely go above ambient air temps -- Only during long periods of sitting still, which I can build a heat shield to fix that(later project).
The way the grille and headlights are set on our vehicles allows great airflow to the filter element. there is a rubber trim that is on the side edge of the radiator that I pulled out to allow more air to flow in, which has shown to lower IAT's more efficiently

I'm more worried about the function over the fashion of it(i think it looks great, some may not) because when it boils down to tuning, the more efficient every component of your entire setup is and the better it does it's job, the more you can tweak your tune to get the best of it. And keeping the intake temps as low as possible is all you should want out of your CAI setup.

 

[Narco]

i picked up a spectre cai and plan on putting it on tomorrow (later today actually). ill post pics and results.

 

[gtbigup01]

After some browsing and reading some reviews I have decided to go with the Spectre brand too. For those that have bought it was it part# 9900? I found one for $116 with free shipping so will buy it.

narco have you installed yours yet. Let me know what you think, not looking for dyno numbers but fit finish and easy of install primarily.

 

[yukonjacks]

Im not real keen on the K&N, seems like the ***** gets dirty really quick. Actually thought of making something up using the oem box,

 

[gtbigup01]

Im not real keen on the K&N, seems like the ***** gets dirty really quick. Actually thought of making something up using the oem box,

if the k&n requires oiling then thats the reason for it getting dirty quickly. It's not really that the oil makes it get dirty just that it causes the dirt to stick to it and stay there as opposed to blowing off. I'm sure they all pick up equal amount of dirt, some sticks and others fall off.

I'm really waiting to hear narco's results of the Spectre so I can buy before the price changes for the worse lol

 

[Narco]

^ gt, got tied up today and didnt get it on but ill do it 1st thing in the am and have pics up by afternood. the one that i linked earlier in this thread is the one you need. it works for 4.8, 5.3, and 6.0